A Zoom meeting is only as good as its facilitator. Tina Lucic, a member of Zoom鈥檚 customer marketing team, gave tips on how to create a conducive meeting.听听
鈥淪et the right expectations,鈥 she said听. 鈥淭ell them what they can expect in your session and how you expect them to contribute.鈥澨听
Before the meeting:听听
- Check your lighting 鈥 Position yourself in front of a window, or use a ring light. For low light environments, adjusting the light in the video settings is an option.
- Know your platform 鈥 Familiarize yourself with the controls of the videoconferencing app you鈥檙e using. Know what eye level looks like for your gadget.
At the start of the meeting:听听
- Address housekeeping items 鈥 How long is the meeting going to last? Will the meeting be recorded?
- Inform people how they can participate 鈥 Will the chat听box be open throughout the meeting, or听should attendees use the Raise hand feature instead?
- Acknowledge your virtual meeting attendees by name 鈥 Introductions are also useful especially for smaller groups.听
鈥淪tart your meeting off with an ice breaker,鈥 Ms. Lucic added in the aforementioned webinar. 鈥淢aybe ask the [virtual attendees] to use a backdrop to show where they鈥檙e from.鈥澨听
During the meeting:听
- Assign an in-person meeting facilitator 鈥 Given that in-person connection is 鈥,鈥 assign an in-person meeting facilitator to be the virtual attendees鈥 in-person representative. He/she works in the background: supporting the main facilitator, raising questions sent through the Q&A box, and sending links related to the meeting鈥檚 talking points in the chat.
- Ensure breaks are scheduled throughout the hybrid meeting
- Utilize collaboration tools 鈥 Support the real-time flow of ideas through听, or promote interaction through game-based apps like Kahoot!
- Manage participants privileges for more efficient proceedings 鈥 Zoom鈥檚 security button, for instance, allows hosts and co-hosts to enable closed captioning, request that a participant start their video, or put participants in a waiting room. Participants in a Zoom call, meanwhile, have access to controls such as changing their screen names, accessing the chat box, and clicking meeting reactions.
鈥淕ive [everyone] a chance to be an active part of the session,鈥 said Ms. Lucic, adding that a host should allocate a portion of the meeting to questions. 鈥淧eople are giving you their time… Even though you cannot answer all of them, make sure that you try to.鈥澨
A hybrid meeting is a meeting with any combination of people joining from an in-person location, like an office space, or remotely, as in their homes. While this option offers flexibility and cost-effectiveness, it also comes with challenges that include distractions from external interruptions, as well as a lack of tools to enable collaboration.听听
Per PhilCare鈥檚 2021 Survey of Filipino Workers, half of the respondents said they worked from home. Of these, 20% had a hybrid work setup. A quarter of all respondents (25.2%) also said they preferred a new normal work setup where they worked more in their workplace than at home. 鈥斕Patricia B. Mirasol听
